Shooting victim planned to forge new path helping others, mother says

Anastasia Kuzyk was keen to forge a new path in life that would see her care for others as a personal support worker, her grieving mother said Wednesday.

Anastasia Kuzyk

“She was beloved in the family, in the community, everyone she met she met with a smile,” Sirpa Kuzyk said of Anastasia. “She was keen, excited about starting a new path in her life to get further education and became a helper.”

While Kuzyk’s 36-year-old daughter was working as a real estate agent, she was becoming a very spiritual person and her real passion was “to care for people,” according to her mother.

She put her home up for sale and had accepted an offer — the home inspection was scheduled for Wednesday — and planned to use the money to go back to school to become a personal support worker, her mother said.

“In her next life,” Kuzyk said, her voice trailing off.

An emotional Kuzyk spoke outside her home on a rural road in a heavily wooded area not far from the spot where her daughter was gunned down.

The victim’s distraught-looking sister briefly came out of her mother’s house and played with the dogs before walking down a gravel road. Her family is keeping a close eye on her — she was in the house with her sister when she was shot and killed.

She didn’t witness the killing, but saw the killer’s shotgun.

Basil Borutski is charged with first-degree murder in the killing of her daughter and two other women, Nathalie Warmerdam, 48, and Carol Culleton, 66.

“We are really looking out for her,” Kuzyk said.

The outpouring of support from the community since the killing has been overwhelming, Kuzyk said.

That included a woman who dropped by Kuzyk’s home as she spoke to the Citizen to offer to buy her groceries.

The woman told Kuzyk she has been praying for her family before breaking down into tears. Kuzyk embraced her.

Kuzyk said extended family were coming in from Winnipeg to join them in mourning and a vigil was planned for Wednesday night.

Kuzyk said her daughter never thought ill of people and sometimes was taken advantage of because she gave people the benefit of the doubt.